Guide to our Products

About Hollinger Metal Edge

The Hollinger Corporation has been the leading supplier of archival storage products for government and institutional archives, historical societies, museums, libraries, universities, galleries and private collectors for over 60 years.

Famous for The Hollinger Box - the gray document cases that fill the shelves of thousands of organizations, we offer a wide variety of box styles made with various appropriate materials to store any collectible.

Educational Support

The Hollinger Corporation is committed to educational support for preservation workshops. Please contact us regarding your workshop, and we will provide free catalogs, brochures and samples as required.

Hollinger Box Boards

Archives Gray/White Board is the material we manufacture for the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration according to NARA specifications. The board is sulfur free with a minimum pH of 8.5 and a 3% calcium carbonate buffer throughout the sheets. Both the gray outer liner and white inner liner are lignin free and conform to the ANSI IT9.2 Standards. TAPPI accelerated aging tests show that this board will prevent acid migration for at least two centuries. The sheets are 60 point caliper with a gray exterior and white interior. Archives board has a basis weight of 200 lbs. Per thousand square feet and a Mullen bursting strength of 240 lbs. per square inch. Archives board boxes are used for the majority of archival storage requirements.

Hollinger Board is a fully bleached fiberboard which is lignin and sulfur free and conforms to ANSI standard IT9.2. This material has a minimum pH of 8.5 and a 3% calcium carbonate buffer. The sheets caliper 60 point and are available with a gray exterior and white interior or tan on both sides. Hollinger board has a basis weight of 230 lbs, per thousand square feet and a Mullen bursting strength of 280 lbs. per square inch. Hollinger Board boxes are used for storage of items which are frequently accessed and for larger or heavier items.

Tan Alpha Cellulose Board is lignin and sulfur free with a 3% calcium carbonate buffer and a minimum pH of 8.5. This fiberboard is pure alpha cellulose and conforms to ANSI standard IT9.2. The sheets are tan on both sides and caliper 60 point. Alpha Cellulose board has a basis weight of 275 lbs. per thousand square feet and a Mullen bursting strength of 320 lbs. per square inch. Alpha Cellulose boxes are used for items which require the heaviest and most durable box material.

Hollinger White 200#B Archival Corrugated Board has a minimum ph of 7.5, a 148 lbs. per thousand square feet basis weight, and a Mullen bursting strength of 200 lbs. per square inch . This material is used for storage of paper documents for up to one century.

Hollinger Gray 200#C Archival Corrugated Board is lignin and sulfur free with a 3% calcium carbonate buffer and meets the ANSI Standard IT9.2. This board has a basis weight of 152 lbs. per thousand square feet and a Mullen bursting strength of 200 lbs. per square inch. This material meets the highest archival specifications, and it can be used for any buffered archival storage requirements while providing the additional cushioning of corrugated board.

Hollinger Inert Polypropylene Corrugated Board is available in 3 mm and 4 mm calipers. These materials are extremely strong and can be cleaned with no negative effect to the board. The inert property of this board makes it ideal for storage of textiles and archaeological items which are made up of organic materials of animal origin such as silk, wool, leather, fur, bone, etc.

Hollinger Folder Paperboard

Our folder paperboard is available in 7 point, 10 point and 20 point caliper thicknesses. This material is used in manufacturing file folders, map folders, expansion folders, envelopes, four flap enclosures, button & string ties and microfiche boxes. The 10 point and 20 point paperboards are available in sheet sizes for conversion in your workshop.

Customer can use folder paperboard to construct phase boxes, book wrappers, pamphlet binders, backing sheets, separator sheets, drawer and shelf liners, and drawer trays. When constructing trays or other items requiring an adhesive, use a neutral pH bookbinding glue such as polyvinyl acetate or a neutral pH hot melt acrylic glue. Small bulldog clips can be used to hold tray walls in place until the adhesive sets.

An excellent folder can be constructed using 4 mil polyester and 20 point folder paperboard. First make a polyester folder about an inch larger than the item to be stored. For an 11 x 14 item, a 24 x 15 sheet of 4 mil polyester would be folder in half to make a 12 x 15 folder. Then use 3M number 415 double sided tape to glue an 11.75 x 14.75 sheet of 20 point folder board to one inside half of the folder. When you then place your 11 x 14 item in the folder, it is protected by a buffered folder bottom, while it is still visible through the transparent, inert polyester folder top.

Hollinger Permanent Bond & Cover Papers

Our 20# Bond is available in nine pre-cut sizes. These provide excellent protection for paper documents and photographs when used as interleaving sheets. Fragile pamphlets and documents can be photocopied onto our paper for patron use when the original is in poor condition or awaiting repair. To reduce wear and tear on original photographic prints, photocopies can be made using Hollinger paper, with the photocopies kept in archival binders for viewing.

Our 65# Cover can be used as backing for maps and oversized documents. Sheets cut to page size can be inserted inside the covers of bound books to protect end papers. The 65# Cover can also be used for call number ID tags. The paper can be cut into strips which are placed inside rare books which would otherwise be disfigured by library marking. Worn book covers can be secured prior to mending by wrapping strips of 65# Cover paper in both directions around the book and securing with double sided tape which contacts the 65# Cover paper only.

Hollinger Permanent Paper Envelopes

Our 7 point buffered paper envelopes are available in various sizes with ungummed flaps to fit documents, and the three standard photo sizes without flaps. We also have the three sizes of photo envelopes in neutral pH, unbuffered paper to house color photographs and albumen prints. The buffered and unbuffered papers meet ISO Standard 14523.

Archival Acid-Free Tissue Paper

Used as an interleaving material, our sheets and rolls of tissue provide papers and textiles with an archival barrier and physical support.

Use cut sheets for interleaving maps or prints whose originally issued tissues may cause browning. Insert single sheets where foxing stains or acidic inks show image migration.

Layers of tissue can be used as a sling for lifting textiles or other collectibles from their storage boxes.

Buffered Tissue

Buffered tissue is used to provide a suitable alkaline environment for cellulose materials. Use it for interleaving books whose tender spines will not allow much distortion or displacement in the binding structure, which may occur when using thicker sheets. Textiles with linen, cotton or jute fibers will benefit from layering or padding the folds and shaped areas such as bodices or sleeves with buffered tissue. Use buffered tissue as a final wrapping material for unboxed or rolled items stored on open shelves. This helps to shield the items from light and dust.

Unbuffered Tissue

Many textile conservators request unbuffered tissue for use with costumes and artifacts comprised primarily of amino acid structure. Furs, feathers, wools, leather and silks are stored with neutral pH materials. Use unbuffered tissue for stuffing shoes, boots, handbags, hats, saddle bags, arrow quivers, etc. The tissue will help support any leather item.

When in doubt regarding the fiber content of your artifact, choose unbuffered materials for storage.

Archival Poly Films

Archival Polyester, Archival Polypropylene and Archival Polyethylene

DuPont Melinex 516 is an archival quality polyester film that contains no plasticizers or surface coatings. Like Melinex, untreated polypropylene is inert, and provides excellent archival protection. Many archivists prefer polyester because of its greater stiffness and slightly greater clarity. The advantage of polypropylene and polyethylene is considerably more economical prices. These films provide excellent archival protection for documents and photographs while allowing these items to be viewed without removal from the protective storage product.

Our polyester products include envelopes, L-sleeves, binder pages, processing folders, map folders, sheets and rolls. Polyester sheets and rolls can be used to make book covers, shelf and drawer covers, slipcases, over wraps and interleaving sheets.

Loose Book Wrappers: Square the roll of film against a cutting mat grid. Place the book on top of the film with the bottom of the book along the bottom cut edge of the film. Place the straight edge under the head of the book to mark the cutting line. Carefully remove the book, and make the cut. The long edge of this rectangle ought to be approximately four widths of the book cover plus the spine thickness. The second cut is a right angle down to the bottom of the sheet. Center the book in the rectangle. Fold the two flaps over the front edges of the book cover, scoring the fold lines if necessary. Loose book wrappers give you visibility for call numbers and titles, handling protection for tender spines and hinges of covers, and prevent shelf friction. Use film for protecting pamphlets by cutting to size and sewing through the back Cut the film slightly wider than the front edges and round the corners.

Barrier Sheets: Polyester film is a chemically inert barrier preventing acid migration. Cut sheets to the text block size to insert between acidic turn-ins and text block pages. Many older book boards are very acidic and need to be isolated from the text. Place the polyester film sheets further inside the text, next to the title page and index, to prevent further acid migration.

Barrier sheets can be in books where selected illustrations have been treated with a deacidification spray. Place a polyester sheet on both sides of these pages. Construct simple polyester folders to isolate acidic enclosures that must remain with the book. When rolling paper or textiles, protect the items from possible acidic tubes with a layer of polyester film.

Processing Folders: Fragile or torn papers can be protected by cutting and folding polyester film into a simple folder. By allowing a one inch margin on the three open sides, the natural cling of the polyester will hold the paper in place. Use these folders for photocopying fragile papers or as a temporary support for items awaiting repair.

Line Wooden Shelves and Drawers: Lining these surfaces will prevent acid migration from the wood.

Slipcases: Cut a polyester film rectangle with a width equal to the outside with of the book. The length should be enough to wrap around the book plus a one inch overlap. Score the film to fit the books dimensions. The overlap section can be placed at the top or bottom. Secure the flap with DuPont #415 double coated tape.

Overwraps: Use polyester film as a final wrapping for rolled textiles, large prints or maps when placed on open shelves in storage areas where tissue may shred or tear. Secure in place with flat woven tapes or ribbons. Polyester film-wrapped oversized books or atlases that are stored flat will be protected from abrasion when pulled from stacks. The film surface may scratch, but will retain its inert quality.

Intercept Sheets

Our 6 mil high density polyethylene Intercept sheets provide the usual inert barrier of arhival polyethylene plus the additional protection of neutralizing common oxidizing atmospheric gases such as ozone, carbonyl sulfide, sulfur dioxide, hydrogen chloride, nitrogen dioxide and hydrogen sulfide. In Intercept polyethylene sheets, copper is covalently reacted into the polymer matrix. This copper backbone gives Intercept its ability to bond with and neutralize oxidizing gases. Intercept sheets can be placed inside any archival enclosure to obtain the added benefit of protection from atmospheric contaminants within the enclosure. Our six mil Intercept sheets will offer protection for at least six years before needing replacement.

Tyvek

Made from high density polyethylene fibers, Tyvek is a chemically inert sheet of spunbonded olefin that is strong, lightweight, flexible and resistant to water, chemicals, abrasion and aging. Its low linting surface makes it ideal for storing photographic materials. The opaque, smooth surface can be sown into bags or wrapped around a large variety of collectibles for protection from UV radiation and dust on open shelves.

Protective Curtains: Cut a length of Tyvek slightly longer than the height of your shelf. Secure the cut sheet at the top of the shelf. The curtain can be rolled up and left on the shelf top during the periods when the shelf needs to be open for access.